GARRIOCH GAME REPORT: Price is right as Senators fall to Habs

The Ottawa Senators had a chance to move into the final wild-card spot in the National Hockey League’s Eastern Conference on Tuesday night, but the result was a stunning 5-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens.

Yes, the Senators would have required help from elsewhere to grab a playoff spot, but they let an important two points slip away as their three-game winning streak came to end in the start of a home-and-home series against the Canadiens.

Max Domi (two goals) and Jonathan Drouin (one) led the charge for the Habs with three points each, while Arturri Lehkonen and Brendan Gallagher also scored against Senators goalie Craig Anderson.

Only defenceman Dylan DeMelo and winger Mark Stone were able to beat Carey Price as the Senators fell to 3-9-1 on the road this season.

Jonathan Drouin of the Canadiens prepares to slide the puck past Senators netminder Craig Anderson for the first goal of the game in the opening period.Minas Panagiotakis /
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“Everything tonight was self-inflicted for us,” DeMelo said. “They did a good job of capitalizing on their opportunities. It was just things that weren’t making us successful earlier on this season that kind of crept back in. We hung Andy out to dry on a few of those goals.

“It would be a setback if there’s a snowball effect. If we can rectify it, and I’m very confident we can, and I think when Thursday comes you’ll see a better effort from us.”

Trailing the Habs by two points coming into this game, the Senators were determined to get their act together on the road. They had improved defensively in the previous four games and felt they were on the right path.

Unfortunately, they took a step backward. Sure, they will have a chance for payback Thursday in the rematch at Canadian Tire Centre, but the Senators have to be a whole lot better than they were in this one.

There was no third-period comeback as Gallagher put it away at 4:21 of the third, making the score 5-1. Stone scored with 7:31 remaining.

Canadiens forward Max Domi (13) scores his second goal against Senators goaltender Craig Anderson in the second period.Ryan Remiorz /
THE CANADIAN PRESS

Really, the Senators lost this game when they fell apart in the second period.

That was when the Habs pulled out to a 4-1 lead. Lehkonen and Domi, with his second of the game, scored in a span of 48 seconds to give the Habs that three-goal lead.

Lehkonen was alone on the edge of the crease when he tapped a pass by Anderson on the stick side at 18:17. Earlier, Domi’s 13th of the season made it 3-1.

“You’ve seen that before that before on the road,” Senators head coach Guy Boucher said. “We’re right there. It’s 1-1 with (six) minutes left in the second and we gave it away, gave them a goal. We try to get it back, we overdo it and it bites us in the butt.”

After falling behind in the first period, the Senators battled back to tie it up 1-1, but Domi struck at 14:38 of the second. He one-timed a perfect pass from Drouin by Anderson on the glove side.

A big faceoff win in the Habs’ zone by Chris Tierney had led to a tying goal at 8:49 of the period. With Montreal ahead 1-0 and Anderson helping to keep it that way, DeMelo fired a shot from the point that beat Price.

#Senators fans are going to hate Max Domi even more than they used to hate his old man. This one is going to beat their team in more ways than one for years

Drouin opened the scoring for the Habs at 14:30 of the first period on the 12th shot Anderson faced. Breaking in on a 2-on-1, Drouin took a pass from Domi and backhanded the puck through Anderson’s five-hole.

“For five to seven minutes in the second, they turned up the tempo, got the momentum and were able to bury us there,” said Anderson, who faced 41 shots. “We weren’t able to re-establish ourselves after that.”

The Senators know the road effort has to improve.

“We kind of came unraveled (in the second). I don’t know what we’re going to do about it, but we’re going to have to find something and correct it,” Stone said. “We can’t dwell on this too much. It wasn’t a good effort by us. It’s unfortunate we’re struggling so much on the road. We can’t cry about it, we’ve got to find ways to improve.”

Confirmation Tuesday the NHL would add a 32nd team with expansion to Seattle in 2021-22 was good news for the players. It means more jobs and, ultimately, grows the business.

Seattle has a great model to follow after the Vegas Golden Knights went to the Stanley Cup final in their first season, and the new team will have the same expansion-draft rules.

“It’s more jobs for guys that are up and down and maybe they can get a chance,” DeMelo said. “You look at a lot of those guys in Vegas and a lot of them, for the most part, were kind of buried on their teams.

“They went to Vegas, they got an opportunity and they ran with it because there was an opportunity for them elsewhere. Maybe they weren’t getting with their parent team. I’ve never been to Seattle, but I hear it’s a great city. I can only see positives. I don’t know what the negatives would be.”

Vegas performed like a team with a chip on its shoulder, setting out to prove naysayers wrong.

“I don’t think (Seattle) will catch people as much by surprise,” DeMelo said. “Once Seattle gets in the league people will say, ‘Look what happened with Vegas.’ The summer rankings had Vegas at the bottom, but people are smart enough to know there’s no games that are gimmes.”

This will be tough news for the people of Quebec City, though. The 18,259-seat Vidéotron Centre opened in July 2015, but NHL commissioner Gary Bettman told reporters in Georgia there would be no more expansion in the foreseeable future.

DeMelo has no say in the matter, but he’d like to see Quebec City back in the league.

“Playing in a Canadian city, and playing against Canadian teams, it’s just, for the most part, it’s different,” said DeMelo, who added he enjoyed going into Canadian NHL cities because of the atmosphere.

“(They’re) just fun cities to play in and be around. You go out to eat, you get treated well. People recognize you and it’s just nice. (Quebec City) would be an amazing town to have an NHL team. The logistics of it is over my head but if it were to happen it would be great.”

ON GUARD FOR THEE

Senators prospects Alex Formenton and Jacob Bernard-Docker will have the chance to play for Canada in the world junior championships that begins Dec. 26 in Vancouver.

Both were invited to the selection camp that starts Dec. 11 in Victoria. Formenton, who plays for the Ontario Hockey League’s London Knights, is a returning player from last year’s gold-medal squad, while Bernard-Docker, a University of North Dakota defenceman, will have to battle for a spot.

Formenton, selected No. 47 overall in 2017, suited up for nine games with Ottawa before being sent back to junior. He has seven goals and 14 points in 11 games with London.

“(Formenton) would be one of the leaders there, for sure, and he probably has the possibility of being the captain,” Senators chief scout Trent Mann said from Calgary. “He was more a depth player last year and I think this year he’d be on the front end.

“He’ll be looked to for more offence this year. How it all shakes out you never know, but, at this point in time, I’d say that’s the expectation for him, (Canada) and us.”

Bernard-Docker, 18, was selected No. 26 overall with Ottawa’s second pick in Round 1 of the most recent NHL draft. He will be at his first Canadian team selection camp. He has three goals and nine points in 15 games at North Dakota.

“Typically there’s never a ton of college kids invited, so that’s impressive to start with,” Mann said. “His confidence has grown throughout the year. They’ve done a very good job at North Dakota helping him with his game.

“He plays top minutes there in the first or second pairing. He gets special-teams play and, for a freshman at North Dakota, that doesn’t happen a lot. He’s going to have to come in (to camp) and impress right off the hop. I don’t think he’s going to have a few days to settle into it.

“That’s no different than (Thomas) Chabot was when he tried out the first time around. When he went to camp, he just kept playing well and was good right away.”

Brendan Gallagher of the Canadiens takes a shot with Drake Batherson of the Senators trailing him during Tuesday’s game at the Bell Centre in Montreal.Minas Panagiotakis /
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THE LAST WORDS

Senators rookie winger Brady Tkachuk, who scored in Montreal during a pre-season game, was excited about the chance to play at the Bell Centre. It’s a great atmosphere and every player enjoys a trip here. “This is one of the best rinks in the NHL,” he said. “It was a great atmosphere even in the pre-season. It’s going to be really special and it’s a big rival game. I’m super-stoked and I know everyone else is pretty excited.” … Habs coach Claude Julien believes the Senators are one of his club’s better rivals. “Every team in the league has certain teams that bring the best out of them,” Julien told Montreal reporters before the game. “We could put Boston in that same category, Toronto at times, although they play a different style. With the Senators, definitely they’re gritty games most of the time. I think it’s our closest rival, so I think it’s a natural thing. I don’t think there’s a lot of love between the two teams, which is a good thing when you’re looking for a rivalry.”

Senators forward Mikkel Boedker has Canadiens netminder Carey Price down, but can’t squeeze the puck past him during the first period of Tuesday’s game.Ryan Remiorz /
THE CANADIAN PRESS

FIVE THINGS WE LEARNED

1. Offence from the defence

The Senators continue to get contributions from their blueliners and it’s not just Thomas Chabot. Picked up in the Erik Karlsson deal, Dylan DeMelo scored his third of the season to tie it up in the second period at 1-1.

2. Falling behind

The Senators have had a bad habit of giving up the first goal and this night was no different. Montreal’s Jonathan Drouin beat Craig Anderson through the five-hole at 14:30. The Senators are now 5-8-2 when opponents scored first.

3. A terrible second

The Senators have talked about cleaning up their act defensively, but they gave up way too many good chances to the Habs, especially in the second period. Montreal made the Senators pay by taking a 4-1 lead.

4. Condon back on ice

Goalie Mike Condon, who hasn’t played since Nov. 9 with the Senators’ American Hockey League affiliate in Belleville because of a lower-body issue, is skating again. He took shots Tuesday in Ottawa, but there is no timetable for his return. He will go back to Belleville and play.

5. Anderson stays in

With the Habs holding a 4-1 lead after the second, there was some thought Anderson may not start the third. If given the choice, he wouldn’t leave the net for Mike McKenna and the Senators have shown an ability to come back in other games this season.

Artturi Lehkonen of the Canadiens tips the puck past Senators netminder Craig Anderson for a goal in the second period on Tuesday night.Minas Panagiotakis /
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